Why It’s Imperative To Have A Knowledge IP Attorney On Your Side
Technology has impacted every aspect of
human life and, because of that, the intellectual property rights are
seen as rather complicated but valuable. Conventional assets
are easily identifiable; IP assets are not so easily identifiable.
Any successful manager or business owner knows that recognizing an issue and deciphering it is the goal to ensure profitability and giving consumers the best possible product or service. Figuring out what the problem is easy but coming up with a solution is a bit more difficult. When it comes to intellectual property, it’s best to seek out the services of an experienced IP attorney to ensure the problem is seen from every perspective.
A Look At Acme Software and What Happened
Now, three young talented software developers left their corporate jobs to make their American dream become reality and, together, they formed Acme. Acme became a hit with software buzzards and its yearly income was quite impressive. Valley Capital Investments offered to buys Acme’s assets and hired Mergers & Acquisition lawyers to make sure everything is on the “up and up” before the sale is closed on.
After the sale, however, Valley is sued from the Acme software developers’ former employer. What happened is that the Acme software developers took a few lines of code from their employer and used it. They never wrote the code from scratch. However, the M&A attorneys had no IP experience and missed this little issue, which is why it went to litigation.
A Look At Creative Co. and What Happened
Creative Co., the company’s value was founded on copyright-protected materials, and investors poured millions of dollars into it based on the IP value. However, one principal left the company after arguing with the others and said he had never been an employee; he also said he developed the majority of the IP and never gave it to the company. Many cultured investors were stunned to found out the company they had invested in didn’t even own the IP they believed they did.
Intellectual property doesn’t particularly behave the same way tangible assets do. The chain of title is often tricky, complex and very tortuous. Even a simple website can be owned by several entities and individuals.
If you want to buy a company, you shouldn’t just ask for ownership and chain of title for the intellectual property. Rather, you need to start asking for the following:
1 - Who has control of the passwords to the technology and social media accounts?
2 - Does the technology infringe on any patents, trademarks or copyrights to a third party?
3 - If the right registrations were filed to safeguard the valued IP.
It does not matter how experienced your lawyer is, you want a lawyer who has a real understanding about IP and technology. If you want to buy, sell or invest in a company, it’s imperative you have someone who knows what they are doing and looking at on your side..
Any successful manager or business owner knows that recognizing an issue and deciphering it is the goal to ensure profitability and giving consumers the best possible product or service. Figuring out what the problem is easy but coming up with a solution is a bit more difficult. When it comes to intellectual property, it’s best to seek out the services of an experienced IP attorney to ensure the problem is seen from every perspective.
A Look At Acme Software and What Happened
Now, three young talented software developers left their corporate jobs to make their American dream become reality and, together, they formed Acme. Acme became a hit with software buzzards and its yearly income was quite impressive. Valley Capital Investments offered to buys Acme’s assets and hired Mergers & Acquisition lawyers to make sure everything is on the “up and up” before the sale is closed on.
After the sale, however, Valley is sued from the Acme software developers’ former employer. What happened is that the Acme software developers took a few lines of code from their employer and used it. They never wrote the code from scratch. However, the M&A attorneys had no IP experience and missed this little issue, which is why it went to litigation.
A Look At Creative Co. and What Happened
Creative Co., the company’s value was founded on copyright-protected materials, and investors poured millions of dollars into it based on the IP value. However, one principal left the company after arguing with the others and said he had never been an employee; he also said he developed the majority of the IP and never gave it to the company. Many cultured investors were stunned to found out the company they had invested in didn’t even own the IP they believed they did.
Intellectual property doesn’t particularly behave the same way tangible assets do. The chain of title is often tricky, complex and very tortuous. Even a simple website can be owned by several entities and individuals.
If you want to buy a company, you shouldn’t just ask for ownership and chain of title for the intellectual property. Rather, you need to start asking for the following:
1 - Who has control of the passwords to the technology and social media accounts?
2 - Does the technology infringe on any patents, trademarks or copyrights to a third party?
3 - If the right registrations were filed to safeguard the valued IP.
It does not matter how experienced your lawyer is, you want a lawyer who has a real understanding about IP and technology. If you want to buy, sell or invest in a company, it’s imperative you have someone who knows what they are doing and looking at on your side..